Jeremiah 23

1 Alas for the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture Declareth Yahweh.

Woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.

2 Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh God of Israel, Concerning the shepherds who are tending my people, —Ye have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and have not visited them, —Behold me! visiting upon you the wickedness of your doings Declareth Yahweh.

Therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds that feed my people: Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them; behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

3 I myself, therefore will gather the remnant of my flock, out of all the lands whither I have driven them, —And will bring them back unto their own fold, And they shall be fruitful and multiply;

And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and multiply.

4 And I will raise up over them shepherds who will tend them, —So shall they not be afraid any more, nor be dismayed nor be missing, Declareth Yahweh.

And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be lacking, saith the LORD.

5 Lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, when I will raise up to David A righteous Bud, And he shall reign as king, and prosper, And shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute judgment and justice in the land.

6 In his days, Shall Judah be saved, And Israel abide securely, —And, this, is his name whereby he shall be called Yahweh, our Righteousness.

In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The LORD is our righteousness.

7 Therefore, lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, When it shall not be said any more As Yahweh liveth, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, As the LORD liveth, which brought up the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

8 but—As Yahweh liveth who hath brought up and who hath brought in the seed of the house of Israel out of the land of the North, and out of all the lands whither I have driven them, —And they shall remain upon their own soil.

but, As the LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

9 As for the prophets, —Broken is my heart within me Trembled have all my bones, I have become as a drunken man, And as a strong man whom wine hath overcome, —Because of Yahweh, And because of his holy words.

Concerning the prophets. Mine heart within me is broken, all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome; because of the LORD, and because of his holy words.

10 For with adulterers, is the land filled, Yea because of cursing, doth the land mourn, Dried up are the oases of the desert, —And, their oppression hath become wicked, And, their might is not right.

For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pastures of the wilderness are dried up; and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

11 For both prophet and priest, are profane, —Even in my house, have I found their wickedness, Declareth Yahweh.

for both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.

12 Therefore, shall their way become to them like slippery places in darkness, They shall be driven on and shall fall therein, —For I will bring in upon them calamity—The year of their visitation, Declareth Yahweh.

Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery places in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.

13 Even among the prophets of Samaria, had I seen a foolish thing, —They prophesied by Baal, And led astray my people Israel.

And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied by Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.

14 But among the prophets of Jerusalem, have I seen a horrible thing, —Committing adultery, And walking in falsehood, And so strengthening the hands of doers of wickedness, not to return any man from his wickedness: They have all of them become to me as Sodom, And her inhabitants as Gomorrah.

In the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen an horrible thing; they commit adultery, and walk in lies, and they strengthen the hands of evil-doers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them become unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

15 Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts Concerning the prophets, —Behold me! Feeding them with wormwood, And I will cause them to drink poisoned water, —For from the prophets of Jerusalem, hath there gone forth profanity unto all the land.

Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

16 Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, —Do not hearken unto the words of the prophets who are prophesying unto you, They are filling you, with vain hopes, —The vision of their own hearts, do they speak, Not from the mouth of Yahweh!

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you; they teach you vanity: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.

17 They keep on saying to them who despise me, Yahweh, hath spoken, saying, Prosperity, shall ye have! And to every one who is going on in the stubbornness of his own heart, have they said, There shall come on you, no calamity

They say continually unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and unto every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his own heart they say, No evil shall come upon you.

18 For who hath stood in the council of Yahweh, that he should see and hear his word? Who hath given ear to his word and heard it?

For who hath stood in the council of the LORD, that he should perceive and hear his word? who hath marked my word, and heard it?

19 Lo! the tempest of Yahweh! Indignation, hath come forth, Even a tempest whirling along: On the head of the lawless, shall it hurl itself down.

Behold, the tempest of the LORD, [even his] fury, is gone forth, yea, a whirling tempest: it shall burst upon the head of the wicked.

20 The anger of Yahweh, wilt not return, Until he hath executed nor Until he hath established The purposes of his heart, —In the afterpart of the days, shall ye understand it perfectly.

The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall understand it perfectly.

21 I sent not the prophets yet they, ran, I spake not unto them yet, they, prophesied.

I sent not these prophets, yet they ran: I spake not unto them, yet they prophesied.

22 But if they had stood in my council, Then might they have announced my words unto my people, And have turned them from their wicked way and from the wickedness of their doings.

But if they had stood in my council, then had they caused my people to hear my words, and had turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

23 Am I, a God at hand, Demandeth Yahweh, And not a God afar off?

Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?

24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I, shall not see him? Demandeth Yahweh, —The heavens and the earth, do I not fill? Demandeth Yahweh.

Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

25 I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesy in my name falsely, saying, —I have dreamed! I have dreamed!

I have heard what the prophets have said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

26 How long shall it be in the heart of the prophets, To be prophets of falsehood, —And prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies; even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

27 Who lay a plot to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they relate every man to his neighbour, —Just as their fathers forgat, my name, for Baal.

which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers forgat my name for Baal.

28 The prophet with whom is a dream, Let him relate it as a dream, And he with whom is my word, Let him speak my word as truth, —What is the chaff to the wheat? Demandeth Yahweh:

The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat? saith the LORD.

29 Is not my word, like this, Like fire? Demandeth Yahweh, —And like a hammer, that breaketh in pieces a cliff?

Is not my word like as fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

30 Therefore! behold me! against the prophets, Declareth Yahweh, —who steal my words, every man from his neighbour:

Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.

31 Behold me! against the prophets, Declareth Yahweh, who presume with their tongue and declare He declareth:

Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.

32 Behold me! against such as prophesy the dreams of falsehood, Declareth Yahweh, who have related them and led astray my people, with their falsehoods and with their recklessness, —whereas, I, had not sent them nor commanded them, so that they could be of no, profit, to this people, Declareth Yahweh.

Behold, I am against them that prophesy lying dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their vain boasting: yet I sent them not, nor commanded them; neither shall they profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

33 But when this people or a prophet or a priest shall ask thee saying What is the oracle of Yahweh? Then shalt thou say unto them Ye, yourselves, are the oracle, Therefore will I reject you Declareth Yahweh;

And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? then shalt thou say unto them, What burden! I will cast you off, saith the LORD.

34 But the prophet, or the priest or the people who shall say—the oracle of Yahweh, I will bring punishment upon that man and upon his house.

And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house.

35 Thus, shall ye say—every man unto his neighbour and every man unto his brother, —What hath Yahweh, answered? or, What hath Yahweh, spoken?

Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken?

36 but the oracle of Yahweh, shall ye not mention, any more, —for, every man’s oracle, shall be his own word, because ye have perverted the words of a Living God, Yahweh of hosts our God.

And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s own word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.

37 Thus, shalt thou say unto the prophet, —What hath Yahweh, answered thee? or What hath Yahweh, spoken?

Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken?

38 But, since ye keep on saying, The Oracle of Yahweh, therefore, Thus saith Yahweh, Because ye have said this word, The oracle of Yahweh, whereas I had sent unto you saying, Ye shall not say, The oracle of Yahweh

But if ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD: Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;

39 therefore, behold me! I will lift you up, —and carry you away, and the city which I gave to you and to your fathers from before my face;

therefore, behold, I will utterly forget you, and I will cast you off, and the city that I gave unto you and to your fathers, away from my presence:

40 and will give unto you reproach age-abiding, —and disgrace age-abiding, which shall not be forgotten.

and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame which shall not be forgotten.